Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) Shares Down 4.7%

Shares of Arbutus Biopharma Co. (NASDAQ:ABUS) dropped 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $3.23 and last traded at $3.25. Approximately 316,949 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 1,149,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABUS. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. HC Wainwright cut their target price on shares of Arbutus Biopharma from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Arbutus Biopharma in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

Arbutus Biopharma Trading Down 4.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $613.34 million, a PE ratio of -7.75 and a beta of 2.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.51.

Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.12). Arbutus Biopharma had a negative net margin of 572.81% and a negative return on equity of 62.68%. The company had revenue of $2.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arbutus Biopharma Co. will post -0.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABUS. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 175.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 131,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 83,950 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 45.8% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 4,149,904 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,424,000 after buying an additional 1,302,978 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Arbutus Biopharma by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,172 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 6,117 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arbutus Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arbutus Biopharma by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 139,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.79% of the company’s stock.

Arbutus Biopharma Company Profile

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops novel therapeutics for chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the United States. Its HBV product pipeline consists of imdusiran (AB-729), a proprietary subcutaneously-delivered RNAi therapeutic product candidate that suppresses all HBV antigens, including HBsAg expression.